by R. S. Karunaratne

Subject and predicate

A sentence has a subject and a predicate. The subject is what the sentence is about. The predicate is the part of the sentence which gives information about the subject.

Subject:

Lalani ...
Crocodiles ...
Sam ...
Colvin...
Nobody ...

Predicate:

danced beautifully.
are reptiles.
has written a good essay.
was a well-known criminal lawyer.
knows where Sarathi lives.

In all the above sentences, the subject comes before the predicate. It is incorrect to use the predicate first and then the subject.

The predicate must have a finite verb. Verbs that end in ‘ing’ or preceded by ‘to’ are known as non-finite verbs.

Glass can be recycled.
I made a Vesak lantern.
All the actors were tired after the performance.
The cat caught a mouse.
Bagya sang a song in the classroom.
We saw a film full of suspense.

The predicate may contain an object, a complement or an adverbial. The object usually comes immediately after the verb.

Oliver kicked the ball.
Daphne baked a cake.
Namasivayam received a promotion.
That lawyer charges high fees.
The boys pushed the door.
An adverbial usually appears at the end of the sentence.
Lionel drove his car along the highway.
Kumudini has passed many examinations after leaving school.
Padmini was a famous ballet dancer who lived long ago.
Some mosquitoes breed in clean water.
The sea looks beautiful in the moonlight.
The object of a sentence is the person or thing that the subject does something to.
Nilam wrote a letter.
Subhashini is wearing a red sari.
The robbers hid the loot in an abandoned house.
The floods destroyed a row of houses.
Dharma plays chess.

[Activity]

Complete each of the following sentences with any one of the following words: procession, watched, saw, met, is, car, samples, Remain, look, hide

1. Why did you ............ the money under the mattress?
2. You ................. attractive in a pink dress.
3. .................. quiet in the examination hall.
4. These are the ................. you wanted.
5. Rex sold his ............... to a friend.
6. Dulanjali ................. my aunt.
7. I .............. Carol only once after leaving school.
8. The bird you ............... just now is a parrot.
9. The children ................... the elephants at the Zoological Gardens.
10. The .................... started at 8 p.m. and ended at 2 a.m.

Key:

1. hide 2.look 3. Remain 4. samples 5. car 6. is 7. met 8. saw 9. watched 10. procession

Know your idioms

English is rich in idioms - those modes of expressions peculiar to a language which frequently defy logical and grammatical rules. However, without idioms, language will lose its vitality and colour. Do the following quiz and learn more idioms. Check your answers with the key.

1. Charles has got a bit above himself after his recent promotion.

(a) has a high opinion of himself
(b) has polite manners
(c) has lost his memory

2. The prisoner admitted that he broke the window of his own accord.

(a) as a matter of routine
(b) under duress
(c) of his own free will

3.By all accounts, Dharmendra is an excellent Indian actor.

(a) basically
(b) in the opinion of most people
(c) truly

4. You don’t have to pay the damages on my account.

(a) for my sake
(b) out of my bank account
(c) in cash

5. On no account must you open the safe.

(a) if you don’t wish
(b) in an emergency
(c) not for any reason

6. The suspect was caught in the act of breaking a glass widow to enter a house.

(a) arrested
(b) discovered doing something wrong
(c) caught on suspicion

7. If you want to succeed in life, get your act together.

(a) be patient
(b) act honestly
(c) get yourself organised

8. We have nothing else to offer you except Adam’s ale.

(a) water
(b) coffee
(c) tea

9. A retired judge is always on the air giving legal advice.

(a) flying
(b) on radio or television
(c) a subject of controversy

10. When Hema found out that Prem was a successful lawyer, she was all over him.

(a) paid him a tribute
(b) held him in high esteem
(c) treated him with friendliness and affection

Key:

1. (a) 2. (c) 3. (b) 4. (a) 5. (c) 6. (b) 7. (c) 8. (a) 9. (b) 10. (c)

Starters:

How to show possession

In order to show possession, we use the following words:

I ... my ... mine
We ... our ... ours
You ... your ... yours
He ... his ... his
She ... her ... hers
They ... their ... theirs
Let’s see how these words are used.
It’s my laptop.
It’s mine. (There is no need to repeat the word ‘laptop’)
It’s our house.
It’s ours. (‘house’ not repeated)
It’s your car.
It’s yours. (‘car’ not repeated)
It’s his table.
It’s his. (‘table’ not repeated)
It’s her bangle.
It’s hers. (‘bangle’ not repeated)
It’s their camp.
It’s theirs. (‘camp’ not repeated)

We also can say:

One of my friends came to see me.
Or: A friend of mine came to see me.
One of our uncles has retired from police service.
Or: An uncle of ours has retired from police service.
One of your aunts has gone abroad.
Or: An aunt of yours has gone abroad.
One of his parents died in the accident.
Or: A parent of his died in the accident.
One of her teachers is absent.
Or: A teacher of hers is absent.
One of their customers has come.
Or: A customer of theirs has come.
We can use ‘whose’ with or without a noun.
Whose book is this?
Or: Whose is this?
It’s mine.
Whose house is this?
Or: Whose is this?
It’s ours.
Whose pen is this?
Or: Whose is this?
It’s yours.
Whose book is this?
Or: Whose is this?
It’s his.
Whose bangle is this?
Or: Whose is this?
It’s hers.
Whose books are these?
Or: Whose are these?
They’re theirs.

[Activity]

Underline the right word in the following sentences. Check your answers with the key.

1. Is this your / yours bag?
2. It’s their / theirs problem.
3. Are these your / yours?
4. Is this computer your / yours?
5. That is not my / mine.
6. I know your / yours address but you don’t know my / mine.
7. She has twins but I don’t know their / theirs names.
8. My / Mine class is bigger than your classroom / yours.
9. I went to see a film with a friend of me / mine.
10. We went on holiday with some friends of us / ours.

Key:

1. your 2. their 3. yours 4. yours 5. mine 6. your, mine 7. their 8. My, yours 9. mine 10. ours

Irregular past tenses

Write the irregular past tense for each of the following verbs. Check your answers with the key.

1. bite .....................
2. blow ..................
3. break .................
4. draw ...................
5. bind ....................
6. cut .......................
7. drive ....................
8. find .....................
9. forget ..................
10. grow .................
11. hit ......................
12. keep ...................
13. lose ....................
14. put .....................
15. grind ..................
16. ride ....................
17. ring ....................
18. run .....................
19. read ...................
20. smell .................
21. sleep ..................
22. spread ................
23. teach ..................
24. throw .................
25. write ..................

Key:

1. bit 2. blew 3. broke 4. drew 5. bound 6. cut 7. drove 8. found 9. forgot 10. grew 11. hit 12. kept 13. lost 14. put 15. ground 16. rode 17. rang 18. ran 19. read 20. smelt 21. slept 22. spread 23. taught 24. threw 25. wrote

Countries and nationalities

Complete each word in the nationalities column with one of the endings given below. Check your answers with the key.

Endings: an, ian, ese, ench, ish, k

[Countries]

1. Argentina
2. Australia
3. Brazil
4. Canada
5. China
6. France
7. Germany
8. Greece
9. India
10. Ireland
11. Italy
12. Japan
13. Poland
14. Portugal
15. Russia
16. South Africa
17. Spain
18. Sri Lanka
19. Turkey
20. United Kingdom

[Nationalities]

1. Argentin ...
2. Austral ...
3. Brazil ...
4. Canad ...
5. Chin ...
6. Fr ...
7. Germ ...
8. Gree ...
9. Ind ...
10. Ir ...
11. Ital ...
12. Japan ...
13. Pol ...
14. Portugu ...
15. Russ ...
16. South Afric ...
17. Span ...
18. Sri Lank ..
19. Turk ...
20. Brit ...

Key:

1. ian 2. ian 3. ian 4. ian 5. ese 6. ench 7. an 8. k 9. ian 10. ish 11. ian 12. ese 13. ish 14. ese 15. ian 16. an 17. ish 18. an 19. ish 20. ish